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Nasdaq slowed by glitch
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March 5, 1999: 12:34 p.m. ET
Electronic trading system fixed after problem in ability to execute orders
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A Nasdaq stock market poised for a busy trading day developed a crimp when some electronic trading systems faltered Friday.
The glitch lasted more than an hour, with Nasdaq spokesmen saying the problem affected the ability to execute orders, but had no effect on the quotes traders received. Because orders were slowed - with traders forced to use the phone system of the past --volume was diminished on a day in which the market was reacting to the February U.S. employment report.
Nasdaq Stock Exchange chief operating officer Pat Campbell said the small order execution system, or SOES, and the SelectNet system went down at 9:41 a.m. ET, 11 minutes after the market open. He said a problem in a market switch handler caused the problem, which lasted until just after 11 a.m.
Campbell said Nasdaq isn't sure if the problem was related to either software or hardware. There were no software upgrades overnight that might have triggered a problem, he said.
Spokesmen for two major electronic trading firms said the glitch went virtually unnoticed.
"We did receive a report from the Nasdaq that some of the information received by our customers, such as trade report data, ticker tape and trading volume, may not have been accurate at the moment they were received due to problems at the Nasdaq," said Paula Ebert, an Ameritrade spokeswoman. "Nasdaq's problems did not affect our executions."
"There's been no impact on our customers," said Glen Mathison, a spokesman for Charles Schwab.
At 12:15 p.m. ET, Nasdaq volume was 356.8 million shares, generally below the 400-million plus volume that might be expected. The composite index was up 36.07 to 2,328.96, bolstered by a report that showed more new jobs than expected, but a lower increase in hourly earnings than estimated. 
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